KARACHI, Dec 31: Intellectuals from various walks of life congregated at the Jinnah Medical and Dental College on Saturday to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the Progressive Writers Movement and to discuss its role in the today's world.

Congratulating the PWM on achieving the milestone, literary critic and lawyer Abid Hasan Manto said today's writers and poets had new roles to play given the rapid downward spiral of society's intellect.

“This is the age of mediocrity and the focus is more on science and technology,” he said. “Art and literature have been buried under it.” Questioning the food for thought of today's world, he criticised a lack of intellectual and political freedom in academic institutions.

Mr Manto said the world and its dynamics had changed a lot since the inception of the PWM in 1936, and that we no longer have the political parties that motivated the public. In this respect, he said, the PWM could not just take pride that they brought intellectuals and writers to the forefront, but now they should shoulder the responsibility of awakening the masses through their literary work.

“As a society, our scope of interest has narrowed down and now the movement needs to awaken the progressive trends and create scientific minds,” he said.

Referring to the Occupy Wall Street movement, Mr Manto said that although a capitalist way of thinking was popular in the west, the progressive thought could not be curbed. He added that third-world countries were the worst affected by the capitalist system since they were heavily dependant on the International Monetary Fund.

The conference also included messages from Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo, vice president of PWM's Sindh chapter, and Dr Ali Javed, secretary general of the All India Progressive Writers Movement.

Mr Joyo highlighted the PWM's struggle against oppression and said it was the voice of the poor, the weak and the dominated. He said it was their mission to bring to light issues such as class discrimination and freedom for the subjugated people. He especially appreciated the role of the Sindh chapter in this effort.

Dr Javed's message advocated stronger ties between the peoples of Pakistan and India. He mentioned the sacrifices made by the writers and poets and said they had used their literary works to bring a peaceful and judicious environment to society.

Besides Mr Manto, the speakers of the conference included writer, critic and social scientist Sobhogyan Chandani, Urdu critic Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, writer and poet Shafi Aqeel and poet Zehra Nigah.

They reiterated the relevance of the PWM, and asserted that despite many threats, the movement continued to thrive. They said the struggle would last as long as issues such as feudalism and class discrimination existed. They also paid tribute to the writers who had helped bring about social change.

“This is something every political party promised, but failed to deliver the goods even though they have been using the agenda to attract the masses,” said Mr Siddiqui. He said the Occupied Wall Street Movement was significant answer to the corporate imperialism which was regarded as the panacea for the ills of the world. A book titled Taraqqi pasand tehreek ka safar by Jamal Naqvi was also launched at the event.